At Sunset
by Fallenangel26
Summary: After a terrifiying dream, Chihiro returns to the Spirit World. It turns out that the bathhouse is being threatened by an evil menace, and if they are to survive, everyone one must work together. And to save her friends, Chihiro must walk right into the l


A/N: Hey everyone! This is my first SA fic, so I hope you like it! I wrote it after seeing the movie only 1 ½ times, so forgive me if I mess something up! 

Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, me no own, so you no sue!

PLEASE REVIEW!!!! I would really appreciate it! But I should warn you, flame at your own risk. I don't necessarily mind them, but I'm protective of my stories, so be careful!!! Hehehehehehhhhhh…..

Now, sit back relax, and enjoy!

Somewhere in a small town in Japan, a young woman, maybe 14 or 15, stood in the middle of a garden. She was sitting at the edge of a small pool, staring at the still water. She wore a midnight blue kimono patterned with large royal blue flowers, and tied with a purple obi. Her dark brown hair was pulled back from her face, hanging in a braid to the small of her back. She fingered a fan absently, entranced with the water.

Chihiro jerked out of her trace-like state, as huge fireworks burst overhead. New Year's was a wonderful holiday, but today, Chihiro was not in the mood for the festivities. She was feeling depressed, and needed to be alone. 

Haku promised that we'd meet again. He never said when… 

And tonight was New Year's Eve, the time to make wishes for the coming year. _I wish I could see Haku again…_ Chihiro thought, the same as she had every year since her return to the 'real' world. 

With a sigh, she reached into her obi and withdrew a small piece of paper, a calligraphy brush, and a bottle of ink. She picked up the inkbottle and yanked the cork out with her teeth, spitting it into her palm. 

Without pausing to think, she dipped her brush in the ink, wiped it delicately on the rim of the bottle, and quickly wrote down her wish. 

While the ink was still wet, she placed the bit of paper on a nearby lily, and gently pushed it into the middle of the pond, where she watched it twirl around and around.

"Chihiro!"

"Coming mother…" she called, and with one last look at the floating wish, she stood up and walked away.

Later that night, Chihiro tossed and turned in bed.

A young man with jade green eyes watched her, smiling silently. Something behind him caused him to turn, and when he looked back at her, there was fear in his eyes. He gestured at her to come, and took off running.

_Chihiro recognized this place. She was following Haku through the rows of fragrant flowers, trying desperately to keep up with him. But now the flowers did not seem so pleasant or welcoming, instead, they felt dark and foreboding. "Haku!" she screamed, reaching desperately for his disappearing figure. But it was no good. He vanished._

_Suddenly, Chihiro was standing on a bridge, looking up at a burning building. It took her a second to realize that the building was the bathhouse. Flames leapt up the gables, and screams echoed into the night. She looked at the bathhouse again, and realized that all the doors were barricaded shut! _

_In the windows, she could see people framed in fire. There was her friend Lin, dear old Kamaji, that foreman that had refused to give her an herbal soak tag, the frog No-face had eaten first, Baby, even Yubaba. But what brought tears to her eyes was a small face in the very highest tower. "Haku!" she screamed._

_With a jolt, she was suddenly standing in a field of nothingness. Haku appeared before her, his bright eyes sad. He held out his hand to her, and Chihiro could see that it was trembling._

_She reached out to grasp it-_

And woke with a start.

Gasping with shock, she struggled into a sitting position, fighting her way free of encumbering blankets.

She hurried to the window, just to reassure herself that she was indeed safe in her own world. 

The full moon hung majestically in the sky, and below her, Chihiro could still see the lily where she had left her wish, still floating in the middle of the pond. But the lily was empty.

Chihiro shook her head. "Alright. I can take a hint. I'm coming."

Chihiro hummed to herself as she flew along the road. _I may not be able to drive, but a scooter works just fine!_

As she navigated the overgrown road, she couldn't help worrying about the dream. _Was it a warning? Is that really happening? Or is it just my overactive imagination?_

She was so involved in her thoughts, that she almost missed the roadside shrine. But luckily, she managed to stop, although her overenthusiastic use of the brakes caused her to take a brief flying lesson, as she sailed over the handlebars.

After picking herself up, and dusting the leaves from her hair and clothes, she left an offering at each of the tiny shrines. She bowed to them respectfully, and then continued on her way.

When at last she reached the train station, she managed to stop a little more dignified, and disembarked with no problems. She hid her scooter behind a nearby tree, and slowly entered the tunnel.

Her footsteps echoed loudly off the walls, and Chihiro remembered how scared she had been the last time she had walked this direction in the tunnel.

She smiled a little at that, and picked up her pace. _I'm gonna see Haku!  Now why didn't I do this before?_ She wondered.

Soon, she reached the empty room, with its solitary drinking fountain, and dusty benches. Passing beyond that, she emerged into a grassy field, dotted with the worn sculptures that had frightened her so much on her first visit. Now she felt as if she was going home, and they were smiling a welcome.

With more of a bounce in her step, she hurried over the field, crossed the rocky riverbed, and entered the deserted town.

Now she was running quickly through the silent streets, her tennis shoes slapping loudly on the packed dirt. Her jeans still bore traces of dirt, a reminder of her headlong, brake-induced flight. But her long sleeved shirt with the t-shirt over it, remained clean, and her quick pace had torn the leaves from her hair.

Soon, she could see the uppermost tower of the bathhouse, and was relived to see that it was flame free.

Predictably, while she was watching the bathhouse, she tripped over a projecting stone. With a cry, she fell down, rolling to a stop at the edge of the bathhouse bridge.

Groaning, she opened her eyes, to find her field of vision eclipsed by a pair of legs.

With a start, she looked up. A young man with straight black hair stood over her, looking confused. Even if she hadn't recognized him instantly, his bright green eyes would have given him away. 

"Haku!" she screamed, jumping to her feet and throwing her arms around his neck.

Recognition dawned on his face, and he hugged her back, lifting her off the ground and twirling her around in a circle. "Chihiro! I knew you'd come back!"

They hugged for a moment longer, but then Chihiro pulled back. "Why didn't you tell me that I wasn't going to see you again for this long?!"

He sighed. "I just had a feeling we would meet again. I didn't know when… I'm sorry. Believe me, if I had known it would be this long…"

Chihiro smiled and nodded. "Alright. I forgive you this time. But promise me that you'll stay with me while I'm here."

Haku smiled softly and placed a hand on Chihiro's cheek. "I promise. We need to make up for those years we lost."

She hugged him again, before looking back up at the bathhouse. "I had this dream…"

He leaned forward. "Yes?"

Chihiro shook her head. "Never mind. How is everybody? Lin and Kamaji and Baby and Zeniba and No-Face?"

Haku laughed. "Why don't you go find out for yourself?"

Chihiro ran across the bridge, and threw open the bathhouse's main doors. All the workers looked up, wondering who would make such an extravagant entrance when the bathhouse hadn't even opened for that night's business.

There was a moment of startled silence as the workers registered who this girl was.

"SEN!" there was screech from the front of the room, and a woman came pelting up to Chihiro, enveloping the girl in a soapy hug.

"Lin!" Chihiro cried, hugging her friend tightly. "How are you? I missed you guys so much!"

Lin pushed Chihiro lightly back, and looked her over. "You missed us?! We missed you! Why didn't you come visit?! Everyone was happy that you got to go home, but we missed you! Especially a certain young man…" Lin sent a not-so-discreet look at where Haku was being bombarded by the rest of the bathhouse staff.

Chihiro blushed. "I'm sorry. When I go back this time, I won't stay so long…"

Lin chuckled. "Now that you're here, what would you like to do?"

Chihiro looked around. "Umm…how about the big tub? Then, maybe the floors…" she walked towards the old room she had occupied with Lin and the other girls, tapping her lips with one finger.

Laughing, Lin grabbed her arm and hauled her back. "What are you talking about?! You're an honored guest! We'll reserve one of the tubs for you to _use_! As in bathe in, not clean! I meant, what would you like to do, that's not work?"

Chihiro blinked. "I…um… Can we go see Kamaji?"

Lin grinned. "That a girl!"

Chihiro gently slid open the small panel that led to the boiler room, and poked her head into Kamaji's lair. The old man looked exactly the same as he did when Chihiro had first ventured into the room, such a long time ago.

The sootballs were the first to recognize her, immediately dropping their burdens and swarming over her until not an inch of Chihiro was visible.

Kamaji turned when he realized that the sootballs had stopped ferrying their chunks of coal. "Hey! You! Get back to work! Do you want to be soot again! Back off!"

Gradually, the sootballs trickled off Chihiro, and she took a great gasping breath.

Kamaji did a quick double take. "Chihiro!"

A smile broke out on his face, and Chihiro pelted across the room, and into his many arms. She relaxed into the six-armed hug, grateful for the comfort.

"Kamaji." She said, pulling back. "I wanted to talk to you… I need your advice, and I know you'll listen to me…"

Kamaji nodded, and poured two cups of tea. "I have something to tell you, also. But first, drink." He produced a cushion for her to sit on, and handed her a cup.

She sat down, and took a cautious sip of the tea. "Well, I didn't just come here to see Haku and everybody. I mean, it's wonderful to see you all, but…"

Kamaji didn't look angry. "But…"

"But the night before I came, New Year's Eve, I wished I could see Haku again." She blushed a little, but kept going. "And then that night, I had a really strange dream. It was about Haku, and he was trying to show me something, but I couldn't keep up with him and he got away. But then I saw the bathhouse, and it was burning. And everyone was inside, and they were all screaming and burning… it was horrible! And then Haku held out his hand, and when I tried to take it, I woke up."

Kamaji nodded, bridging his fingers. "There's something you need to know. But here is not the place to talk." He stood. "Come."

She said a quick goodbye to the sootballs, and followed Kamaji to a small door. He pressed a quick repetition of panels next to it, and the door slid open, exposing the inside of an elevator.

Soon, they were flying upwards, at a speed Chihiro couldn't even begin to imagine. Up and up, until she was sure they must have flown out of the top of the bathhouse.

But with a sudden jolt, they were jerked to a stop, sending Chihiro crashing into the side of the elevator.

The doors opened on the fancy suite that belonged to Yubaba and Baby. Kamaji stepped out of the elevator, and gestured for Chihiro to follow him.

He led her down the corridor, through an endless set of ornamented doors, and into Yubaba's private room. 

Closing the door behind her, Chihiro nervously surveyed the room.

Everything looked so different. She could see remnants of the old room, buried beneath mountains of paperwork, and a very large and strange collection of protective seals and charms.

There was a rustling from the corner, and a shadowy form stepped out. 

It was Yubaba, the sorceress who ran the bathhouse. She looked slightly different, to Chihiro's untrained eye.

Her hair was still pulled up in the same hairstyle she had sported when Chihiro had been at the bathhouse, and she still had a gigantic mole right between her eyes, but there were minute differences. 

Her dress, formerely blue, was now a more subdued dark gray, her thick lavender eyeshadow had been replaced by a lighter ivory shade, and the chunky rings on her fingers had been toned down to only three simple gold bands, one each on her left pointer, right ring, and left pinky fingers. 

Yubaba looked silently at Chihiro for a moment, and then sat slowly down behind her desk.

She pressed the pads of her stubby fingers together, and closed her eyes, sighing gustily. "I suppose you received our message?"

Chihiro blinked, astonished. Whatever she had been expecting Yubaba to say, that was not it. "W-what? Excuse me, a message?"

Yubaba raised an eyebrow. "Your presence here tells me that you must have gotten a message from us. Maybe a strong feeling or even a vision?"

Once again, Chihiro blinked in shock. "Y-yes. I had a dream last night…"

Yubaba leaned forward, regarding Chihiro intently. "Well? Tell me what you saw!"

Chihiro began to remember why the sorceress had always frightened her. "W-well… I uh…" she shifted nervously.

Yubaba growled in frustration. "Come on girl! Speak up! This is vitally important! What did you see?" she made a tiny gesture with one hand, and Chihiro was knocked off her feet by a chair that had been sitting across the room. She fell back in the chair, and in carried her forward, until she was sitting right in front of Yubaba's desk.

The old woman caught her gaze and held it. Surprisingly, there was no hate or cruelty in those eyes. Only a fierce fire, a pond of sadness, and a tiny spark of fear. Chihiro relaxed a little, took a deep breath, and relayed her dream to Yubaba.

When she had finished, the room was silent. Kamaji hadn't moved from his position by the door, and it was him Yubaba called to. "Kamaji. Bring me Lin, Haku, and Kawazu."

The old man bowed and disappeared back into the elevator.

Yubaba turned back to Chihiro. "A great many things have transpired since you were here last." She sighed, and leaned back. "The bathhouse has prospered greatly these last years, exceeding even my greediest hopes. But then a few weeks ago, I received a painful threat from Kado, a powerful enemy of mine." Yubaba pulled the neck of her dress down slightly, exposing a harsh red scar right below her collarbone. "He gave me this, telling me that if I did not give him what he wanted, he would destroy the bathhouse and everyone in it."

Chihiro blinked, shock written across her face. "Is that what I saw in my dream? Then you must give him want he wants!" 

Yubaba sighed. "That is the one thing I cannot do. Kado commanded me to hand my powers over to him. If I do not, the bathhouse and everyone in it will be destroyed. If I do, it will give him enough power to destroy this entire world!" She sighed and leaned back in her chair. "It is a no win situation. This is why we decided to send for you."

Chihiro shook her head slowly, unbelieving. "I can't believe it…"

Yubaba rested her forhead on her fists. "It takes a huge amount of power to bridge the distance between our world and yours. It took all Kamaji's, Haku's, and my power to reach you, and all we could send you was a feeling. We didn't know if you would receive it, or that you would get such a violent dream. We need your help, girl."

Chihiro actually stopped breathing for a second. _Yubaba was actually asking HER for help_! "W-why do you need _me_? Why not Lin or Haku? I mean, what could I, a human, do to help?"

Yubaba leaned forward, trapping Chihiro in her intense gaze. "Kado has laid a spell on this bathhouse. No one of this world can leave the grounds. The edge of the bridge is the farthest we can go. If we are going to stop Kado, we must get word to my sister." Yubaba made the words 'my sister' sound like sour milk. "Kado is her enemy too, but he will not have sought her out yet. If I am to get word to her, someone from another world must be the one to take it. Lin, Haku, even myself are prisoners here. We cannot walk past the end of the bridge. That is why we need you, girl. Will you help us? I am not commanding you to, and there is no contract to sign. This must be of your own free will. I cannot force you to stay. You could walk away from here now, and we would understand. This does not involve you in the slightest, and you are here purely of your own volition. But once you make your decision, you cannot go back on it. And you must decide quickly. Will you help us? Or will go return to your own world?"

Chihiro sank down in her seat. _Is this all the warning I have? We're in trouble, and everyone here's going to die if you don't help us. But if you do help us, you might die yourself. Are you in or are you out? This place is so messed up! _ But despite the alarms going off in her head, in her heart, Chihiro knew it was no decision at all. 

"I will help you as much as I can."


End file.
